A wave of revival

God is working to bring about a revival in our nation’s schools and we can be a part of it.

Brian Barcelona answered the call to start ‘Jesus Clubs’ in public schools to help high school students find and develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. He shares a recent example of a student’s life that was changed as a result of hearing the gospel message for the first time.

“This happened about a month ago in a school, right before we ended the school year. I felt like the Lord said, ‘shut down the meeting’ and so we shut down the meeting. We were just walking through the quad and this fight almost broke out with this kid and the principal.”

“The principal was right in the kid’s face; He was provoking this kid and the kid was about ready to sock this principal. The parole officer was there and I just sat down next to this kid and started talking to him. The parole officer looks at the kid and says, ‘You need to listen to this guy,’ pointing to me and we just started this conversation. That day that kid did not hit that principal.”

Prior to this incident Brian had invited this student to Jesus Club, over and over, but he never came.

“I always wonder if I would have just done my own thing and the end result for me would have been a great sermon and a bunch of kids and raising their hand in a room for an altar call, what would have happened to this kid? Maybe he would have went to juvenile hall, and juvenile hall would have then led to prison.”

This story reminds us how important it is to listen and obey God’s promptings throughout the day, and not get in the way of what He is trying to do in and through us.

“Obeying God for every believer has to be the goal; there is not this ladder of success that we climb in the kingdom, it’s a lot different than when you’re in the world. I think if every believer’s main goal is just to obey God, then they would never fear missing anything.”

Revival is not just a responsibility of the Jesus Clubs or the students who are in it, but of all believers in our communities.

“If this revival is my responsibility then it wouldn’t be a revival, it would be just a little ministry. In no way do I take credit for anything that’s happened in the school – this is a sovereign move of God.”

“The simplest way to put it is it’s like a wave: you don’t create wave, but it is our job to ride it and not fall off. God’s the one who creates these waves of revival; He’s the one who creates these incredible opportunities and it’s just our job with integrity, character and love, to ride this wave as long as it’s going.”

We have a responsibility to do our best and steward what God is already doing in our communities. Together, we can help reach the next generation of believers with the love of Christ.